Tough to find a job in many parts of Scotland
New study says there are too many applicants for too few positions
Last updated 9th Mar 2020
IT’S harder to find jobs in many parts of Scotland in comparison to the rest of the UK.
Jobseekers here and in parts of Wales struggle the most, according to a study by jobs site Indeed.
Areas of southern England dominate a list of the best places to find jobs with Oxfordshire said to be the easiest place in the UK to find a local job.
An analysis of millions of jobs advertised on its site, and millions of CVs, found which areas had the most, and fewest, candidates per vacancy.
The top 10 best places were said to be Oxfordshire, Surrey, Berkshire, Edinburgh, Bristol, Greater London, Buckinghamshire, Gloucestershire, Argyll and Bute and Cambridgeshire.
The research suggested places in Scotland and Wales have the biggest shortage of local jobs, relative to the number of candidates, so workers in those areas face the most competition when searching for a job in their hometown.
The 10 most difficult places were said to be North Ayrshire, Angus, Rhondda, Midlothian, East Ayrshire, Blaenau Gwent, Clackmannanshire, Inverclyde, Neath and County Durham.
Pawel Adrjan, of Indeed, said: Although the unemployment rate is close to record lows and the jobs boom has only kept going, our research shows the picture is not the same across the country.
In many areas with less robust demand from employers, particularly in Wales and Scotland, it is more difficult for jobseekers to find work close to home, because there are a lot of candidates competing for jobs or there are not enough opportunities for everyone.
Good transport links are crucial in ensuring people in those areas are able to reach other nearby towns and cities where there is higher demand for candidates.
Our research also underlines how opportunities to recruit global talent may be being missed around the UK, as 40% of all clicks from foreign workers on UK jobs are for London.
The regions need to do more to make themselves attractive to the global pool of talent if they want to recruit people with the key skills critical to their local economies.''